White Goal (Game tied 2-2) Malkin (Sydor, Gonchar) - The White team scores late for the 3rd game in a row, this time with 1:44 left. Sydor got the puck at the point and wound up. It looked like he saw Malkin open in front of the net, and fired a shot-pass right to have, and Malkin chipped it up under the crossbar.

Better tempo and intensity than yesterday, but still not quite where Day 1 was.

Fleury was really sharp today. Rebounds were good for the most part, but he did let out two, but was quick to make saves on the follow up shots. Whitney should have had a goal off a Malone rebound, but Fleury stuffed him. He made another really nice save on Recchi later in the 1st half.

Sabourin wasn't tested as much, but was also good today. He made a nice stop on a bang-bang play in front, denying Brent and again moments later on Laraque.

Conklin and Brown were solid, but again didn't face many quality chances. Conklin did make a big stop on Ruutu with 52.6 second left. One of the defensemen fanned on a pass to his partner and Ruutu got a 15 foot breakaway.

Ruutu made good on his next chance, in the 8th round of the shootout. He could not have skated much slower. He skated in and moved fairly deliberately back and forth forehand to backhand and eventually just poked one by Conklin on the backhand side.

Crosby's effort in Round 3 was amazing. He came down the left side, faked a shot, did the leg kick, slid it to the backhand, then threw on the brakes and pulled it back to the forehand. It was just as amazing that Brown was able to stick with him and go into the splits to shut the door.

Staal looked a step or two quicker today, especially when he had the puck.

Laraque fell awkwardly into the board and was down for a moment or two. Several players motioned to the trainers, but he got up on his own and stayed out for the rest of his shift. I guess he just got the wind knocked out of him.

As Filewich got ready for his shootout attempt, I heard a member of the Pens' staff make a remark about him being "0 for 15" on breakaways. No wonder Filewich ended up burying it.

Goligoski showed no signs of a shoulder injury. He wasn't that noticeable, good or bad. He skated well and made some nice passes

Other Notes:

I overheard and Iceoplex employee remark to someone that the Pens were "back for good." He said they've moved all their equipment into the large locker room in the corner and that any time the arena is not available, he expects them to be there.

The White team practiced after the game. When it was over, Crosby went over to Whitney and had him set up at the left point. Crosby then skated down the slot, slightly to his right side, looking back to his left at Whitney. Whitney then sent a puck toward the net and Crosby was tipping them. They kept doing it for a few minutes. Eventually, Crosby chipped one right under the cross bar. It was exactly like the goal Malkin scored to tie the game. At that point, Crosby grinned and it was on to something else.